Education & Pedagogy

Twenty-five years after it was enacted by Congress in 1972, Title IX of the Education Amendments (the federal mandate against sex discrimination in education) has opened doors previously closed to women and girls. This report by the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education (NCWGE) celebrates the progress made to date but also identifies areas in need of further action. The report examines critical areas--including access to higher education (B-), learning environment (C-), math and science (C+), and sexual harassment (D+)--and grades the United States' efforts to implement Title IX based on such indicators as women's participation rates, enforcement actions by the federal government, and legal developments. The U.S. efforts earn an overall grade of C. The report concludes with an action agenda that provides educators and policymakers with a blueprint for achieving gender equity in the next 25 years and beyond. (Contains 107 references.) (LMI)

This module assists school district personnel in training educators to investigate sex bias in physical education classrooms and to promote gender equity throughout secondary physical education programs, based on Alaska's sex equity law. The module offers learning objectives, teaching methods, time requirements, learning activities, lists of resources needed, trainer information sheets, and handouts. Contents include: exploration of issues of sex equity and physical education; effects of stereotypes in physical education; historical and legal framework of equity issues for physical education; myths and special problems related to sex equity and physical education; decline of women and minorities in athletic coaching, officiating, and administrating; preparation of lesson plans to promote equity; and regulations for individual school districts. Handouts include a sex-role stereotyping exercise, a sheet on changing attitudes, hypothetical cases of sex bias, a quiz on the myths and realities about girls in sports, typical problems associated with equity in physical education, and guidelines on evaluating athletic programs for sex bias. (JDD)

Five articles explore ideas about the nature and kinds of courses dealing with language and education that should be developed in teacher education programs in the Australian school curriculum, specifically where English as mother tongue is used. They include: "Some Recent Developments in Mother Tongue English Teaching in Australia" (Frances Christie); "Towards a Theoretical Basis for Implementing English Syllabuses" (Joan Rothery); "Theories of Early Child Language Development and Their Relevance to Teacher Education Programmes" (Frances Christie); "Teaching Small Groups: A Language Based Approach to Teacher Education for Secondary Teachers" (Frances Christie and Joan Rothery); and "Exploring Preschool Language Development in a Teacher Education Programme for Primary Teachers" (Joan Rothery). (Contains 100 references arranged in the following groups: English teaching; language in education; child language development; linguistics and language study; and sociology and anthropology. (NAV)

Education is a key for the economic growth and social development of developing countries. This paper presents findings of a study that analyzed how scarce resources should be allocated to the two types of secondary education--academic and vocational. Methodology involved correlation and regression analysis of World Bank data on the Gross National Products (GNPs) of over 100 countries and of educational expenditure variables from the UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1982. Findings indicate that the allocation of more inputs to academic education (in the form of expenditures, teaching staff, and pupils) had a positive effect on economic development. Countries that allocated more inputs to academic education in 1980 grew more rapidly throughout the decade than those countries that allocated fewer inputs. The data show that vocational education had some structural inefficiencies. Policymakers should allocate greater inputs to academic secondary education and increase the efficiency of secondary vocational education. Two tables are included. (Contains 12 references.) (LMI)

For a number of years it has been suggested that distance education is a natural extension of existing teaching methods that includes learners who are separated from the instructor by time or distance. This paper takes an alternative look at distance-education research and evaluation and proposes an evaluation model built on that view. That distance education is essentially different from traditional education is made apparent by examining both methods and techniques. Methods generate techniques, and both must be distinguished from the devices (technology hardware) that are used in education. In traditional instruction the flow is from method to technique to device; in distance education, the device can affect method and technique. An evaluation framework is diagrammed that depicts the relations among device, method, technique, learner, content, and instructor. The interaction among these elements cannot be ignored during the development of distance education in the future. Three figures and two tables illustrate the framework. (Contains 7 references.) (SLD)

This report provides information about educational programs for children of migratory agricultural workers in Utah. Migrant Education provides education and support services to children from preschool through high school and postsecondary education (ages 3-21), of migrant parents. The report summarizes eligibility requirements, recruitment efforts, the Migrant Student Record Transfer System, the focus of Migrant Education for early childhood and secondary education, and parent participation activities. It also lists school districts with which the state education agency (SEA) coordinates services. Programs are evaluated on-site by teams composed of representatives from various education programs and services at the SEA. The report lists the directors and locations for the 10 Migrant Education sites and provides descriptive and evaluative information about each site. The inservice training schedule and objectives are provided in chart form. The appendices contain charts and graphs concerning: (1) parent activities; (2) home contacts; (3) demographic data; (4) students served; (5) instructional services; (6) support services; (7) gains in developmental skills; and (8) achievement results. (KS)

This module on evaluating regular and cooperative vocational programs is 1 in a series of 10 modules written for vocational education teacher education programs. It provides the basic information necessary to conduct or supervise regular and cooperative vocational education program evaluations. Introductory materials include the following: a list of competencies/tasks to be covered and objectives, overview of the module, listing of suggested resources, and content/instructional strategies, including prerequisite information. The module first covers why vocational education programs should be evaluated, what should be evaluated, what techniques should be used, and who should be involved. Next, the procedure for designing an evaluation system is presented. A final report outline example is provided. Other topics include using evaluation data, how to avoid common evaluation pitfalls, and the Missouri School Improvement Program. A summary and review concludes the lesson. Two activity sheets and an evaluation plan checklist are provided. (YLB)

This small book presents six articles from the journal "Peace, Environment and Education," published by the Peace Education Commission. The articles have been chosen to give a broad range of illustrations of principles and procedures in peace-related education efforts in the 1990s. The contents are as follows: (1) "Education beyond Hate" (Morton Deutsch); (2) "Education beyond Fatalism and Impoverished Social Imagination: Are We Actively Listening to Young People's Voices on the Future?" (Francis P. Hutchinson); (3) "Peace Education across the Curriculum: Some Perspectives from New Zealand" (James Collinge); (4) "The Teaching of Conflict Resolution and Nonviolence in Australian Schools: A Context for Peace Education" (Max Lawson); (5) "Peace Education in Teacher Training: Some Examples" (Hanns-Fred Rathenow); and (6) "Conflict-Mitigation: Philosophy and Methodology" (Jan Oberg). (EH)

In inclusive education, Disability Studies is a framework that has been useful for identifying gaps in theory, in practice and the spaces in between. Disability Studies in Education also provides new spaces in which to manoeuvre, re-framing theory, reflecting on and (potentially) shifting practice in classrooms, schools, and national policies and guidelines. In this paper three teacher educators and a school principal describe their work in undergraduate and graduate teacher education, both initial teacher education and in-service professional development. We describe the genesis of our theorising in an ongoing project developing and disseminating a sociocultural approach to assessment, "Narrative Assessment." We continue to learn about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment in this project. These learnings inform our theory and practice of teacher education for inclusive education.

Through the conceptual lens of 'education-as-moulding' and 'education-as-drawing-out,' this article expounds the Confucian concept of trustworthiness (xin) and its relation with communitarian education. Informed by the "Analects," it is argued that Confucius envisions a community of trustworthy members who are motivated and characterised by interpersonal trust. From a Confucian viewpoint, both approaches -- education-as-moulding and education-as-drawing-out -- are salient for the development of trustworthiness as a moral virtue in students and relational trust in the school community. The paper also addresses a prominent criticism of communitarian education: the imposition of prescribed values and curriculum on students that suppresses their individual identities, interests and voices. From a Confucian perspective, such an imposition over-emphasises education-as-moulding and neglects education-as-drawing out, making the enforcement ineffective in the cultivation of trustworthiness as a moral virtue. What is recommended instead is the harmonisation of the self and others through both education-as-moulding and education-as-drawing-out.

This article explores the changing nature of P-12 distance education, from its traditional roots of rural and remote students to urban students seeking an alternative to conventional school. The present study examined distance education in the Australian context, focusing on Queensland, through a semistructured survey of parents (n = 43) across three distance education schools. This study explored the child's learning location, context, and academic and social engagement as determined by the parent. In addition, this study examined the reasons why parents selected distance education over a conventional day school. Findings from this study indicated a high uptake of distance education by families residing in large regional and urban settings. This data contrasts the traditional roots and the common understanding of distance education in Australia. This article further explores factors contributing to the growth of distance education. It presents current and future trends that may respond to distance education students' changed demographics and learning needs.

Damage to the natural environment (floods, pollution) and social (decreased manners) becomes the focus of education to reduce its bad impact. Prevention of damage to the natural environment through learning biology, but the application of environmental education through religious subjects, so that the two curricula are expected to synergize with each other to protect the environment and harmonization of social life. This study aims to analyze the environmental education content in the Islamic religious education curriculum using content analysis. The results showed that the environmental education content in the Islamic religious education curriculum was taught in grades I, II, III, IV, VI, VII, IX, XI, and XII. Environmental Education in the Islamic Religious Education Curriculum includes humans as social beings, natural resources, personal hygiene, and the environment. Implementation of attitudes that arise include courtesy and mutual respect, clean and healthy living, and slaughtering sacrificial animals wisely.

The role of non-state providers in the provision of education has been expanding globally. However, there is a dearth of literature on the role of non-state providers in informal education, especially when delivered alongside formal education in schools predominantly under government purview. Using a mixture of methods designed with surveys and interviews involving 32 non-state providers of informal STEM education in Malaysia, this study provides new empirical material to understand the role of non-state providers in informal STEM education. Non-state providers play a complementary role to the government's provision of formal STEM education through the informal variant, motivated by concerns of posterity and national development. At the same time, instances of political competition and bureaucratic barriers are at odds with the government's aspirations for partnership with non-state providers in order to raise students' interest in STEM.

Teacher education (TE) in Finland is based on strong university autonomy, including the right to decide the curriculum content and the teaching methods. Democracy and its values are generally seen as central principles for TE, and the normative basis for education promoting democratic culture is strong. However, in practice, education for democracy is not at the core of TE. On the contrary, building a culture of democracy and action with students is unsystematic and dependent on individual teachers.To overcome this challenge, we studied a group of 18 first-year teacher students focused on democracy education. The study suggests that with systematic education toward a strong conceptualization of "teachers as democratic/societal agents," TE can promote a teacher who sets being an active and societally participative democratic individual as their primary objective. This study also shows that democratic education requires long-term education, not just single courses.

Purpose: This study explored the tensions around physical and literacy integration initiatives from the view of physical education teacher education candidates. Method: We situated our data collection in qualitative case study methodology, emphasizing data from focus group interviews conducted during the final month of physical education teacher education candidates' programs. Results: We demonstrated candidates' recognition of the role of literacy integration within physical education in relation to (a) candidates' feelings of pride and defensiveness of their field, (b) the importance of teacher collaboration, (c) teachers' responsibility to support school goals and the students themselves, and (d) the potential of candidates to become change agents and leaders in their future school environments. Discussion/Conclusion: We assert that collaboration is required, and it must transpire within and among multiple educational contexts spaces, including K-12 settings, among teacher education faculty and programs, and across K-12 and higher education divides.